Our son, Nicholas, was four when we adopted him from China. We found out he was deaf and decided to proceed with cochlear implants even though we knew we were so far behind. We found WISE and started on a trial basis. We realize that WISE took a chance on our son by allowing him to enroll in the school at such a late age and with very little communication skills. 

Nicholas attended WISE preschool classes and had AVT/LSL therapy every week while we lived in Alabama. Nicholas also attended some ASL classes, and he did learn some sign language, however spoken language was always his preferred method to communicate with his peers and family. Nicholas is such a hard worker and really wanted to learn to speak and listen.

Today Nicholas is a 12-year-old boy who is so full of life.  EVERYONE LOVES him! He truly is such a wonderful child.  Even though there are some things that are still difficult for him, or things he misses, he continues to press on. He is still behind his peers in many areas, but he has made such huge gains.  He misses some of the larger vocabulary words but converses with his peers and others fine. He can now carry-on full conversations! 

  We have since moved very far from Birmingham, but Nicholas continues to receive AVT/LSL therapy each week. We still have a long way to go but we are committed to keep going.

As a family we will continue to work on closing the gap for him. In his spare time Nicholas LOVES to read books! He loves to tell us about what he is reading and is always requesting more reading materials from his school. He reads for pleasure-not requirement. We think that is because of the solid foundation for literacy and communication that he built during his years at WISE.

Nicholas also loves to play music and sing, even if he is a little off key sometimes. His piano teacher say he has the beat in his heart! We are now living in Alaska and our family has grown to include 12 children. We are so thankful that Nicholas can communicate with his siblings.

We honestly believe that the chance that WISE took on our son transformed his life. It gave him the opportunity that will continue to impact his whole life and his future. His cochlear implants gave him the sound he was missing, and WISE gave him the foundational tools that he needed to give him a hearing and speaking world and for that we will be forever grateful.

  Karyn Healy- Nicholas’s mom